Almagro shares keys to beat Rafael Nadal: 'Hit full power, close eyes'
In an interview to ATP Tennis Radio, Nicolas Almagro commented on Rafael Nadal's dominance in the French Open. "He beat all the players really easy, Juan Monaco very easy, me very easy, Roger Federer once in 2008 like 6-1 6-3 6-0", said Almagro. "Rafa is the best player ever on clay and i am proud to have beaten him in Barcelona. That was my best win ever because he was the No. 1 in the world, he had won everything on clay, he had won the first set very easily, then I won a tight first set, I came back, and on the third set before serving for the match I was like, Oh man, you can beat the world No. 1. I closed my eyes, I hit full power and finally I could beat him. It was like winning the tournament, then I lost in the semifinals. I also played thrice in the French Open quarter-finals against him."
Almagro got most of his success on clay: "It is like a romance. I was born on clay and this is the reason. I was quite good, I used a lot of power and I do not know why I did not play that good on other surfaces. I was good there but not like on clay. That surface is my love."
Speaking about his Academy, Nadal often says that the kids who go there can have a more organized life than how he had when he was a kid. In an interview, his uncle Toni recalled Nadal's busy childhood. "Rafa studied less, he attended the normal course until 14 years. Then it came a time where that was impossible. At 16 years it was very difficult for him to coincide studying and tennis because tournaments were in another country and city. In the beginning, he did not know the answers and then he did not know what they were asking him. You go from a place to the other. If you make a lot of effort in the basketball and your desire is to be a professional, you know that your studies get influences. When Rafael was studying and playing, he was always in a rush. He was leaving the school, ate a couple of things and went to practice. There is no other different way. You have to make a sacrifice."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2DNLzK8
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